U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning added their signatures to a letter sent Friday to Under Secretary of Defense Kenneth J. Krieg regarding funding for chemical weapon destruction at the Blue Grass Army Depot, as well as the site in Pueblo, Co.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is preparing a 2007 budget request that allocates only $33 million to go toward chemical weapon destruction at the two sites.

McConnell and Bunning, along with Colorado Sens. Wayne Allard and Kan Salazar, want $300 million to $400 million in 2007 to stay on schedule with the construction of demilitarization sites.

“We have reason to believe that those in the (Office of the Secretary of Defense) counseling a return to the $33 million funding level are the same managers who have so mismanaged the chemical demilitarization program that it is one of only 22 programs in the entire federal government to be judged “ineffective” by the Office of Management and Budget,” the letter reads.

The DOD has already caused major delays in the demilitarization process beginning last winter with initiating a study of alternative disposal methods (other than bioneutralization) for destroying the weapons.

Another underlying issue is that the Army oversees all operations at the depots in Kentucky and Colorado and has had previous intentions to build incinerators at the sites in order to destroy the chemical weapons.

The bioneutralization method, which is followed by SCWO (Supercritical Water Oxidation), was chosen by the ACWA (Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives) program, which operates under the Defense Department rather than the Army.

Incineration, or burning the weapons, would create hazardous byproducts. Bioneutralization followed by SCWO would destroy both the weapon and its byproducts.

This is not the first step McConnell has taken to ensure funding for the weapons disposal process.
Over the past year, the Department of Defense froze approximately $300 million of fiscal year 2005 funds for the Blue Grass Army Depot and the Pueblo, Colo., site.

McConnell announced April 7 that he authored a provision in a fiscal year 2005 supplemental appropriations bill that blocks the Department of Defense from redirecting funds to be used for the disposal of chemical weapons at the BGAD.

The bill, which will sustain the flow of funding to keep weapons disposal at the Blue Grass Army Depot on schedule, was signed by President Bush on May 12 .

Craig Williams, director of the CWWG (Chemical Weapons Working Group) based in Berea, is pleased with McConnell’s efforts to ensuring the prompt disposal of the aging chemic al weapons.

“This letter is a reflection of Senator McConnell’s continuing efforts,” Williams said. “Even when they’re out of session, he continues to push for adequate funding for this program.”

Ronica Brandenburg can be reached at rbrandenburg@ richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.